Twelve Percent Of A Moment
by wavingthroughawindow
Summary: Tony and Pepper celebrate their engagement together! This story is purely fluff, written completely for fun. One-shot.


She snuggled into him, feeling warm and happy and at peace. They were on one of the many balconies in Stark Tower. It was nice, she thought. Nothing above them except the stars, and nothing between them but the clothes they were wearing and the air they were both breathing. All their problems were below them.

"So," she said, smiling at him. "I guess it's official." She ran a finger over his cheek, slowly, tauntingly. Daring him to give more.

He just shrugged, staring up at the sky. He was in a quiet mood, she supposed. She would have to give him more.

"I don't know why, but everything feels different," she breathed.

He turned to her. "Really? Because nothing feels different to me. Honestly, it's exactly the same to me."

"Really," she said, clasping his hand. "So _this_ means nothing to you?" She put her engagement ring against his hand.

"Oh," he shrugged. "That's for them," he waved a hand. "We came long before that."

"And by _them_ who do you mean?" she asked.

"You know. The general populace. The people I save every day."

"What, no twelve percent credit for me this time?" she teased, running a hand through his hair.

"Pepper Potts, this is not twelve percent of a moment. How can I give you twelve percent credit?" He pulled her closer, pressing his lips to her forehead. She smiled, kissing him back on the cheek.

He pulled back suddenly. "Actually, it's going to be Pepper Stark, isn't it?"

She held a hand up. "Tony Stark, I am astounded by your misogyny. You really think I would degrade my name like _that_ just for you?"

"You would do anything for me," he said. She laughed. It was true.

"Well, I'm keeping my last name," she said firmly. "But our children can be Starks."

"Good, because quite frankly, Potts is a terrible last name," he shuddered. "Who picked your last name?"

"I wouldn't know," she said. He nodded. The two of them fell silent, staring at the stars, snuggling into each other.

"Are you pregnant?" he asked her suddenly.

"Not - not that I know of," she faltered. Where had that come from?

"So not a definite _no_ ," he said.

"Maybe," she replied, putting a hand on his chest, feeling his scars. "Maybe."

"I'm assuming I'm the father," he said.

"Of course," she replied, smiling.

"Great. We're naming him Tony II if he's a boy, and Pepper II -"

"Virginia."

"What?"

"My real name is Virginia." She scowled. "You don't know the real first name of your fiancé?"

"Pepper Potts, in my mind we have been engaged since the day I got off that airplane after Afghanistan and you welcomed me back. I didn't know your first name then, why should I know it now?"

"You are the worst," she punched him playfully.

"Hey, at least I know that you're allergic to strawberries now," he said.

"Consoling," she rolled her eyes. "You don't know my real name, but you won't poison me. The same could be said of most people."

"Hey, which is more important."

"Fair enough. Shall I fetch us some hot cocoa?"

"You know what? Sure. Why not?" He stretched himself out on the deck chair they were sharing as she got up to get the two of them hot cocoa.

* * *

"Here," she handed him a cup brimming with hot cocoa.

"Don't -" he held out a hand. "I don't like being handed things."

"I thought I was fine."

"You are. Sometimes." He scooted over to make room for her, and she put the cup down next to him. They both picked up their cups.

"A toast," they said in unison, clinking their glasses and taking a sip.

"Delicious," he said. "Pepper, you have outdone yourself." He frowned. "Actually, you always outdo yourself. So, shall I say, out-outdone yourself?"

"You know that's not true," she said, feeling over his chest. "You're the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, by your own description. And what am I?"

"Only the CEO of Stark Industries, one of the biggest and most successful companies in the world," he said.

"I hate how right you are sometimes," she said.

"And why would you hate one of my best qualities?"

"Makes me seem bad at flirting," she shrugged.

"I didn't choose you for your flirting," he kissed her hand. She grinned.

She leaned into him and looked up at the night sky. She wished someone could have taken a picture of the two of them, snuggled together with their hot cocoa, and nothing but night sky for miles around.

"When are we getting married?" she broke the silence.

"Tomorrow," he said.

Her eyes widened. "Really? It's all planned and everything?"

"Nah. What I meant to say is, in an ideal world, we'd be getting married tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Fury wants me back," he shrugged. "Pepper Potts, I need to have a long honeymoon with you before I die."

"What, so we can make love?"

"Exactly," he said matter-of-factly. She smiled, snuggling into him, wanting him to come closer. Wanting them to become one.

"Why aren't we drinking?" he asked.

"What?" She raised an eyebrow.

"We got engaged. That's occasion for celebration. In my book, that means drinking."

She rolled her eyes. "Maybe because I might be pregnant," she said playfully, stroking his hair.

He started. "Wait, you were serious about that?"

"Of course I was. I don't just say things."

He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. "Well, you can't die then," he said finally. He pulled her closer.

She smiled. "I like you like this," she breathed, feeling his hair, his face, his body. "No armor, no walls. No shields you put up for the rest of the world. No Iron Man. Just," she looked at him, "Tony Stark."

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but then closed it. At length, he spoke.

"Pepper Potts, I do believe you are the only person who can render me speechless."

"Yeah?" She raised an eyebrow. A challenge.

He looked her in the eyes evenly, not betraying any emotion. They were a breath apart.

He pressed his lips to hers, and her heart was soaring. They were kissing, and there was nothing but the two of them and the stars. She felt her body melt away, melt into his body, and she couldn't tell where she ended and where he started. She smiled. She was so hopelessly in love.

She lifted herself off him and spoke. "Tony Stark, I believe you are also the only person who can render me speechless."

"Really."

"We should do this more."

"We should."

They fell into silence, staring at the stars peacefully. Nobody else but the two of them.

"Thor's judging us up there," Tony said, pointing at the sky.

"That's okay," she replied.

"He's just jealous," he said. "I'm engaged to you, and he, well, I don't know what's going on with him and Jane."

"And we're having a real moment," she said.

"Some moment," he remarked. "It's been going on for a while."

"This is what a real moment feels like, Tony Stark."

"So I suppose we've been stuck at twelve percent for a while, then?"

"It doesn't matter," she said. "This is real. This is just you and me, this is what it should be. I don't care if you're Iron Man, I don't care if you have to save the world. Don't forget this."

"Huh," he said. "A real moment. I kinda like it." He shrugged.

"Only kind of?"

"Okay, fine." He rolled his eyes. "I really like it. I like it so much that I want to give up the world saving business just for this. It's even better than getting drunk."

"Was that so hard?"

He shook his head. "We'd better have a long honeymoon full of this," he said. "I want enough moments with you to fill a lifetime before I die."

"You won't die," she scoffed. "But that sounds good to me."

"You really are something, Pepper Potts."

" _We_ really are something, Tony Stark," she corrected, smiling. "Let's keep it that way."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Hey guys! What did you think? I know it's kind of short, but I hope you liked it!**

 **So I'm pretty new to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and I haven't actually watched all the movies (though I know the basic plots of each). I'm sorry if I offended anyone with my inaccuracy. In an ideal world, I would have written this after watching all the movies, but the story needed to be written, you know what I mean?**

 **The story is mostly fluff, and I mostly wrote it for myself, but if you liked it, please review to let me know! It would mean a lot to me.**

 **Thank you, and stay beautiful!**


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